So I was back to square one.
“Atlantis,” I began, then paused to consider. “Wait, should I call you Atlantis? Or do you have your own special name?”
“I have no special designation at this time,” the little light said cheerfully. “I can be addressed in whatever fashion the Planetary Lord wishes.”
“Okay, um...Atlantis-Jarvis,” I said gratefully, naming the little orb on the spot, “here’s the thing: I haven’t had a grand tour yet, and I don’t even remember the way back to my room right now. Would you be able to figure out where Via is and give me the best path toward her location? I have no idea where she is, other than her relative direction and a rough approximation of her distance. Are you able to do that?”
“Certainly, Planetary Lord,” the little light said happily. “I can determine her location quite easily by contacting the main intelligence. Please wait one moment.”
I summoned my patience and silently began counting to ten.
“Location determined,” the little light declared pleasantly by the time I had reached five. “Please follow me.”
Oh well, I thought as the little light slowly floated forward. Still better service than WindowsX 32, or whatever version people were currently trying to use back on Earth.
I suppressed my irritation when Atlantis-Jarvis had me backtrack two hallways, but after that, we found Via in under three minutes. She was where I should have expected to find her: the library.
Atlantis’ hall of learning turned out to be a massive room, exceeding even the one I had found on Avalon. It probably could have held one of Earth’s national libraries, and still have had room for my sister’s romance collection. As I looked about, I saw dozens of little Atlantean lights flying about, with more forming by the minute.
The Well must be creating more of these as its power returns, I thought to myself. Maybe that’s why we haven’t needed to help manage the people outside.
Affirmative, Atlantis told me directly. Allocating primary resources to direct people to adequate housing and food. Spending leftover power on the orb-servants in charge of the palace. Directing one toward you now, the intelligence said, then went silent.
So apparently talking to me was more taxing for it than I thought.
“Here we are, Planetary Lord,” Atlantis-Jarvis said as it swirled over my head. “Please be advised that the local library aides will be better able to assist you than I can, now that you are here. I can remain by the door if you wish, or with your permission, I will take my leave.”
“By all means,” I said, waving my hand in dismissal. “Go ahead and do whatever else you need to do. Especially if the rest of my retinue needs help with something.”
“Gladly, my lord,” the little blue light said cheerfully, turning to fly off.
I was about to address the nearest glowing librarian, before I realized that the easiest way to find Via would be to just listen for the sound of her voice, since she had someone to ask about books and stories.
“No, no, no,” I heard the beautiful woman mutter beyond the nearest bookshelf. “I know there was no country called Japan at the time this library was constructed—and they call their own country Nippon, by the way, if you want to get technical. Or Nihon. It depends. That’s not important. What’s important is that I am looking for this manga, and you are not helping me, because you are translating the word wrong!”
“I am sorry I cannot help you,” the robotic voice said. “Please repeat your concern.”
“This is not about you helping me!” Via shouted passionately. “This is about me helping you! Graphic art is an important part of history! As is video art! And I say these things as a Script mage! But you are translating their names wrong, and so I must first fix that! Man-ga is not what your translating magic is telling you! It is not ‘aimless pictures!’ It is an art and story-telling style that has taken the Earthborn world by storm! Especially the young, and those who are still young within! And it has done such a thing for an entire Earth century, which means it would have lasted for a technological epoch on any other world! How can you answer the rest of my questions if there is such a gap in your knowledge?”
I rounded the corner to find Via in all of her passionate, fiery beauty, pointing her finger challengingly at a baseball-sized light that floated a few inches above her face. She wore the same intense expression she had used when we were battling the Nuckelavee or debating the merits of Earth’s science fiction movies.
“I am sorry I have been unable to help you,” the robot-light said as it continued to float, with a significantly wearier tone than my own light had used. “Your complaint has now been submitted. Please inform me if you have any requests regarding material that is currently available.”
“I already asked about all the other material!” Via replied, throwing up her hands. “You already showed me where all of the other subjects are! Except for the comics and movies, which I am disappointed to see are so scarce in this epicenter of learning! How can there only be ten walls of visual art? How can there be almost no cinematic art at all? Do you realize the Earthborn have been able to make thousands of movies? Thousands, I say! And yet they cannot do magic at all, unless they leave their world! How can we let them surpass us, the record-keepers of the Expanse! You should see this as an even greater embarrassment than I do!”
She is so hot when she’s schooling someone, Teeth said in my mind, and this time, I chose to agree with him.
“If you would like to visit our area containing magical records—” the patient light began, only to have Via interrupt again.
“You already showed me your magical records!” Via shouted, throwing up her hands again. “I know exactly where they are now, and I will check them out when I have time! But el guapo loco is coming, and I will not have time to read all the things before he gets here! So instead, I have to know where everything is, so that he can read the things I want to read at the same time!” Her hands became a blur of motion, keeping pace with her words. “How can I let him discover something about my own world before I do? But now, you are telling me you lack two of the most common forms of art in his world, and he may very well not believe us and spend hours looking for it! So I will have gotten up this early for nothing!” she ended with an angry harrumph. “And now that I have made this big and passionate rant, he will no doubt be somewhere close by, watching me make a fool of myself by arguing with a floating light!”
She took a long breath, and finally stopped shouting. For a moment, she said nothing at all, and didn’t move her head to look around. But then she took another very deep breath.
“Señor Annoying Blue Light,” she said, still not looking up. “Tell me whether I am right about him watching right now.”
“I have no information in my database regarding an el guapo loco,” the little blue ball began helpfully, “but there is in fact an individual that fits the description of the current Planetary Lord several feet away from you. According to my extensive records, his facial expressions match those of one who has stumbled onto an encounter and is unsure whether to interrupt, silently witness, or leave.”
That was actually helpful, maybe.
“His expressions are also consistent with my records concerning males of a similar age that do not wish to be caught staring at a female they are extremely attracted to, but are unable to fully look away.”